Baltimore County, Md. — Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) presents Migration, an original dance production created by internationally known choreographer and CCBC alumnus Peter Pucci as part of the Baltimore Stories Performing Arts series on January 28, 2018 at 2 p.m. at CCBC Essex, Wellness and Athletics Center.
The event is free, but tickets are required. Free tickets may be reserved at the CCBC Box Office, 443-840-ARTS (2787).
The Baltimore native, whose family has lived and worked in Baltimore for generations returns to his Baltimore roots with a dance production exploring the interconnectedness of the human experience.
“Baltimore is my home town and I am honored to be granted this unique opportunity to work with more than 50 students from local high schools, colleges and community dance groups to bring ‘Baltimore Stories’ to life through dance,” said Pucci. “I grew up in East Baltimore and attended a dance class at CCBC Essex, which launched my love for making dances.”
Pucci grew up with a single mom in the East Baltimore housing projects during a time of great racial tension. He attended the former Northern High school and enrolled at CCBC, where he earned an associate degree in Physical Education. His Baltimore upbringing helped him form a deep respect for and understanding of how diversity and inclusion are essential elements in a community.
CCBC commissioned Pucci to create and articulate his vision of diversity and inclusion with a group of 50 dancers set to the music of Dawn of Midi’s Dysnomia. The production of Migration brings together dancers at different levels to choreograph, collaborate and articulate through dance the unique views and perceptions of people from different backgrounds, which shape their world views based on personal experiences, language and culture. Participating dance groups include: students from the CCBC Dance Company; three high schools, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, and St. Timothy’s School; the Towson University Community Dance Program; and The Collective, a Baltimore-based professional dance company.
Migration, is inspired by the work of geneticist Spencer Wells, founder of National Geographic’s The Genographic Project, who is tracking the patterns of human migration over the past 50,000 years based on genetic information collected world-wide. Wells’ study of genetics revealed that earth’s human population shares a common origin and all humans are descendants from a single source and migrated across the globe.
Pucci earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from North Carolina School of the Arts. He served for nine years as a member of Pilobolus Dance Theatre, where he served as principal dancer, co-choreographer, and rehearsal director. Recent theatrical productions
include Master Harold and the Boys directed by Athol Fugard at the Signature Theatre; Incognito, directed by Doug Hughes Off Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club; and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Ethan McSweeney at The Shakespeare Company in Washington, DC. Pucci has worked for 20 years as a choreographer with extensive credits in theater, ballet, modern dance, opera, fashion and dance education.
The Migration premiere is supported, in part, by a $15,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation for Baltimore Stories, a year of programming at CCBC School of Liberal Arts, Performing Arts and Humanities focused on stories about Baltimore told through dance, music and theater.